The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Tuesday, June 20, 1967 — Hundreds of houses in Bulawayo and the surrounding districts, shook and trembled last night as a “quite strong” earthquake caused the ground to shudder over a 30-mile radius from the City, extending from Turk Mine in the north to the Matopos in the south.

For 10 seconds the tremors rocked buildings, causing people to rush from their homes. Police, fire brigade and The Chronicle newsroom were inundated with phone calls asking what had happened. About 300 calls were handled at The Chronicle. The officer in charge at Goetz Observatory, Mr CB Archer, said: “The tremor was definitely an earthquake somewhere close to Bulawayo, and quite strong”. He would not be able to give details for a few days. There is no record of Bulawayo having experienced an earthquake before. Last year Wankie was shaken by two “quakes”.

“In our gauge the scale of intensity would be five or six in the Bulawayo area, which means buildings would creak and occasionally bits of plaster would fall from ceilings, while furniture would move,” said Mr Archer.

Bulawayo police made extensive inquiries at out stations, but received no reports of damage to property. The tremor began at about 7.55PM and lasted about 10 seconds. Several people described the quake as “like a train going through a station at full speed”.

Houses were shaken over a wide area. Some reports suggested that during the “quake” a bright blue flash was seen in the sky south east of the city.

At 10.05PM, at the electrician quarters at Bulawayo Central Hospital, Mr SW Oakley reported another tremor, but this one was short and not as severe.

There were no other reports. At the Selousi Mission, 26 miles due west of Bulawayo, the first tremor was described as “not severe, but lasting a few seconds”. A mission official said he thought the rumbling sound came from the south.

In North End, a mother rang The Chronicle office, “I’m all alone with my two small children”, she said, “and I don’t know whether to put them in bed or not”. She was advised to contact the police.